When you eat food, it is typically not in a form that the body can immediately use as nourishment. Food and drink must be reduced to smaller nutrients before they can be absorbed into the blood and then carried off to cells throughout the body. Digestion is the process by which food and drink are broken down into their smallest parts so the body can use them to build and nourish cells and to provide energy.
So where does the process of digestion start? In a nutshell, digestion begins in the mouth and ends in the small intestine. The path from the mouth to the small intestine is called the digestive tract. When you chew and swallow food, it moves down the digestive tract through muscle action called peristalsis. More specifically, food and drink is pushed from the mouth into the esophagus, which connects the throat with the stomach. At the junction of the esophagus and stomach is a ringlike muscle called the lower esophageal sphincter, which is like a gate that closes the passage between the two organs. As food approaches the closed sphincter, the sphincter relaxes and allows the food to pass through to the stomach. Once food enters the stomach, the stomach goes to work. The job of the stomach is three-fold. First, it stores the swallowed food and liquid. Secondly, it mixes up the food, liquid, and digestive juice produced by the stomach. And third, it empties its contents slowly into the small intestine. As the food dissolves into the juices from the pancreas, liver, and intestine, the contents of the intestine are then mixed and pushed forward to allow further digestion. Finally, the digested nutrients are absorbed through the intestinal walls and transported throughout the body. The waste products of this process include undigested parts of the food, or what is commonly known as fiber. Though undigested, fiber plays a crucial role in waste elimination. These materials are ultimately pushed from the intestines into the colon, where they remain until the feces are expelled by a bowel movement.
Now that you have a better understanding of digestion, let's discuss the role and importance of digestive enzymes. Enzymes are needed by the body to break down nutrients. An enzyme is simply a substance that speeds up chemical reactions in the body. When you put food in your mouth, the first thing that happens is saliva is produced. Saliva contains an enzyme that begins to digest the starch from food into smaller molecules. When food reaches the stomach, it mixes with stomach acid and an enzyme which helps to digest protein. After the stomach empties the food and juice mixture into the small intestine, the juices of two other digestive organs mix with the food. One of these organs, the pancreas, produces a juice that contains many enzymes to break down the carbohydrate, fat, and protein in food. Other enzymes that are active in the process come from glands in the wall of the intestine. The second organ, the liver, produces yet another digestive juice—bile. Bile is stored between meals in the gallbladder. At mealtime, it is squeezed out of the gallbladder, through the bile ducts, and into the intestine to mix with the fat in food. The bile acids dissolve fat into the watery contents of the intestine. After fat is dissolved, it is digested by enzymes from the pancreas and the lining of the intestine. Without the help of enzymes, digestion would be difficult!
But with the help of enzymes, most digested molecules of food, including water and minerals, are absorbed through the small intestine into the blood, where they are carried off in the bloodstream to other parts of the body for storage or further chemical change. This part of the process varies depending on whether the nutrient is a carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamin, mineral or water. Let's briefly discuss how each of these nutrients are digested and absorbed.
The digestible carbohydrates include both starch and sugar. Starch is digested in two steps. First, an enzyme in the saliva, along with pancreatic juice, breaks the starch into molecules called maltose. Then an enzyme in the lining of the small intestine splits the maltose into glucose molecules that can be absorbed into the blood. Glucose is carried through the bloodstream to the liver, where it is stored or used to provide energy for the work of the body. Sugars are digested in one step. An enzyme in the lining of the small intestine digests sucrose (or table sugar) into glucose and fructose, which are absorbed through the intestine into the blood. Milk contains another type of sugar, lactose, which is converted into absorbable molecules by another enzyme in the intestinal lining. Fiber, on the other hand, is an undigestible carbohydrate that moves through the digestive tract without being broken down by enzymes. I will discuss more about fiber in a bit.
Let's move on to protein, which is found in foods such as meat, eggs, and beans. Protein must be digested by enzymes before they can be used to build and repair body tissues such as muscle. It is in fact an enzyme in the stomach that starts the process of digestion of protein. Then, in the small intestine, several enzymes from the pancreatic juice and from the lining of the intestine finish breaking down the protein molecules into smaller molecules called amino acids. These amino acids are then absorbed through the small intestine into the blood and then be carried to all parts of the body to build cells.
As for fat, the first step in digestion is to dissolve it into the watery content of the intestine as mentioned earlier. After fat is dissolved, it is digested by enzymes from the pancreas and the lining of the intestine. More specifically, the bile acids produced by the liver dissolve fat and allow pancreatic and intestinal enzymes to break the large fat molecules into smaller molecules. Some of these smaller molecules are fatty acids and cholesterol. The bile acids combine with the fatty acids and cholesterol and help these molecules move into the lining of the intestines. Here the smaller molecules are formed back into large ones, most of which pass into vessels called lymphatics near the intestine. These small vessels carry the reformed fat to the veins of the chest, and the blood carries the fat to storage depots in different parts of the body.
And lastly, vitamins and water are also absorbed through the small intestine.
This should give you a better understanding of the digestive process, the way different nutrients are digested and absorbed, and the importance of enzymes which help to break food down into a form that can be utilized by the body.
With that said, it is important to understand that good digestion doesn't always take place in the body. Some people may have difficulty producing the necessary enzymes to assist in good digestion. Fortunately, there are some solutions. One solution comes in the form of a supplement which contains digestive enzymes. Supplemental enzymes can help your body break down the foods you eat so you can increase absorption of key nutrients -- so more of the food you eat can be converted to energy and help to repair and rebuild new cells. These enzymes, by the way, can also help relieve occasional upset stomach, indigestion, heartburn, gas, and bloating after eating a large meal, as well as help to eliminate toxins.
When looking for a digestive enzyme supplement, look for one that supplies several supplemental enzymes, including amylase, lipase,lactase, cellulase, protease, bromelain, and papain. These enzymes support the breakdown of dietary carbohydrates (including sugars and starches), fats, and proteins. Amylase helps to break down starch. Lipase helps to break down fat. Lactase helps to break down lactose. Cellulase helps to break down cellulose. Protease helps to break down protein. Bromelain helps to break down protein. And papain helps to break down protein.
Another solution comes in the form of a probiotic supplement. Probiotics contain healthy bacteria which help to promote healthy digestion and increase absorption of key nutrients in the intestines. Pay particular attention, however, to probiotic products that contain bacterial strains that can survive the harsh environment of the stomach to ensure effective colonization of the GI tract. Also look for probiotics that are guaranteed to remain effective for at least a year, or you could be wasting your money on bacterial strains that are no longer active.
And one other solution comes in the form of additional fiber. While a varied diet rich in healthy fiber is always the first recommendation, it is true that less than 10% of Americans get the recommended 21–38 grams of fiber in their daily diet. That being the case, fiber supplements can help increase fiber intake. (NOTE: 21-38 grams of fiber is the current recommendation for adults, depending on age and gender.) A diet high in fiber can help you maintain a healthy digestive system and great long-term health.
Dietary fiber not only promotes good digestive health, but it is important to the maintenance of heart health, and it aides in normal bowel regularity as well, which helps move wastes and toxins out of the colon quickly and efficiently. If the colon doesn’t function properly, wastes can back up and recycle through the body. High fiber will also leave you feeling satisfied, making it easy to skip unhealthy snacks throughout the day. Diets high in both soluble and insoluble fiber are important for digestive health.
I now want to turn from discussing the importance of digestion to talking about the importance of detoxification. Detoxification (or detox), in the context of this discussion, is the physiological removal of toxic substances from the body. This is important if you are looking to achieve optimal health. When you think of detoxification, think of the liver. The liver can be pushed to its limits by alcohol, cigarettes, & over-the-counter pain medications. Your liver works hard. After producing blood proteins, filtering toxins, and storing many vitamins and minerals, your liver most likely needs a little help. You can help to support your liver and your body’s natural detoxification process by eliminating, or cutting back on, alcohol, cigarettes, pain meds, and the like. In addition, you can enlist the support of a quality supplement that contains milk thistle. It is one of the most powerful antioxidants currently known, and it helps to increase both the amount and the activity of several antioxidant enzyme systems involved in the detoxification process (including superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the glutathione peroxidase system).
I hope this gives you a better understanding of the importance of digestion and detoxification. Many people take these issues for granted and assume their bodies are performing these duties just fine. Don't take your body for granted. Enlist the support of the supplements I mentioned above if you have issues related to digestion or liver issues. Or try them if you are unsure. As always, seek out supplements that are manufactured to pharmaceutical-grade standards so that you know you are getting a quality and value in exchange for your money.
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